Long-Stalled Stronger Patents Act Introduced in House

By Scott McKeown on March 20, 2018

Copycat House Bill to Generate Positive Buzz?

Today, Representative Steve Stivers (R-OH) and Representative Bill Foster (D-IL) introduced H.R. 5340, the so-called “Support Technology & Research for Our Nation’s Growth and Economic Resilience (STRONGER) Patent Act.” The bill (here) is a carbon copy of the Senate Bill (save some cosmetic changes). On the Senate side, the Bill has existed in some form since 2015 but has languished. This is because its proposals would essentially legislate away the patentability trial mechanisms of America Invents Act (AIA). With the mammoth Tech and Bio/Pharma lobbies on opposing sides of that issue, a bill viewed as lopsided by Tech is a non-starter.

If nothing else, the House Bill appears to be an attempt to create some positive, political buzz.

Given the distance between powerful lobbies on these issues, I would not expect meaningful movement on the legislative front any time soon. Some of the more patent friendly changes over the past year have come from the PTAB itself. My expectation is that the agency will continue this trend and address some of these issues via notice-and-comment rulemaking later this year.

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